Hollywood Chop Shop

After a botched babysitting job, a couple of down on their luck crooks must uncover the mysteries of their setup while seemingly trying to outwit each other. It’s not long before everyone starts to look guilty of something as they unravel the true driving force behind their detail. It’s a who’s who of who’s gonna get away with the heist in this star studded caper in America's Motor City.

We wrap up the Kings Trilogy which comprised of Three Kings (1999), The Lion King(s) (1994 and 2019) and The King of Staten Island (2020). See which kings we thought deserved their crowns and which characters the cinemachanics would transport into other franchises.

Scott, a 24 year old currently stunted in life, must adapt to his rapidly changing environment. As his life begins to shift around him, he finds stability in smoking weed and tattooing anything that will let him, but the very things that anchor Scott in comfort are also the things that stop him from moving forward and following his dreams. Will Scott stay focused long enough to confront his demons, or is he destined to be a burnout?

In an almost scene for scene remake of Disney’s classic Lion King, Mufasa’s rule of the Pride Lands is challenged by his brother Scar. Feeling entitled to the throne, Scar puts a plan in motion to murder the King and his son, Simba. During the attempted coup Simba is exiled to a far away land where he meets new friends and finds a new philosophy on life far from the pressures of being king. As fate would have it, Simba’s past catches up to him and he’s forced to decide if he’ll continue to follow his carefree lifestyle or follow his fathers footsteps and return the bloodline to the throne. Will Simba reinject soul into the barren wasteland of in this “real” CGI retailing of the animated original, or is the Kingdom doomed to suffer the consequences of a terrible plot against a proud legacy?

P.S. Someone forgot which version we were supposed to watch so we kind of review both this week. 

Four soldiers occupying Iraq in the aftermath of Persian Gulf War embark on a heist to enrich themselves with gold Saddam stole from Kuwait. What should be a quick mission spirals out of control after the band of bandits witness the brutal murder of an Iraqi rebel at the hands of Saddam’s remaining forces. Feeling compelled to do the right thing, the soldiers must now put their bullions on the line to help escort a group of displaced refugees to the Iranian border. Will our four “heroes” cash in on their scheme, or will we be left wondering what was the point?

We wrap up the Unconventional Teachers Trilogy which comprised of My Octopus Teacher (2020), The Faculty (1998) and Election (1999). See what we thought of teachers who can't learn anything and which characters the cinemachanics would transport into other franchises.

A high school teacher with little resistance to temptation attempts to fix a class election to prevent an over-achieving student from wedging herself further into his life. Jim McAllister, fearing he will befall the same fate as his best friend and former teacher, sets a plan in motion to prevent Tracy Flick from becoming the next class president and seducing him into betraying what ethics he has left. Will Jim’s plan to get the most popular kid in school to run against Tracy work, or will he elect to take a darker path...

In an almost suspicious coincidence of events, a poorly managed school in Ohio discovers a new species of Cephalopods, a new student from Atlanta moves in and the teaching staff can’t seem to stay hydrated. Can Casey Connor and a misfit gang of teenagers unravel the mystery spreading through their small town, or will Casey’s thirst for knowledge get him expelled from his student body. Let’s find out in The Faculty, what can be easily be summed up as The Breakfast Club meets John Carpenter’s The Thing in this homage to sci-fi horror mysteries.

Craig Foster, a documentary filmmaker suffering from a midlife crisis, embarks on a journey of self discovery through the dense kelp forests of South Africa. While trying to cope with his life devoid of love, Craig begins to detach from his family and reality while entering into an unlikely affair with the eight-limbed mollusk from next door. Day after day Craig continues to dive deeper into her world in a story you’d have to sea to believe.

We wrap up A Worthy Adversary Trilogy which comprised of Mortal Kombat (2021), The Break-Up (2006) and Southpaw (2015). See what we thought of the fighter architype and which characters the cinemachanics would transport into other franchises.